Methods and apparatus for reclassifying aerosols



M. V. FRIEDELL METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR RECLASSIFYING AEROSOLS Filed Jan. 13, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR: MORLEY V FRIEDELL JM 759w, /7

ATT'YS Nov. 10, 1959 METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR RECLASSIF'YING AEROSOLS Filed Jan. 13, 1956 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ,INVENTOR: MORLEY V FRIEDELL ATT'YS M. v. FRIEDELL 2,912,064

METHODS AND? APPARATUS'EDR. RECLASSIFYING AEROSOLS Morley V. Friedell, Wheatrid'ge, Colo., assignor to C. A. Norgrentlompany, a corporationof Colorado Application January 13, 1956, Serial-No. 558,907v

Claims. (Cl. 183-75) This invention relates to methods and apparatus for reclassifying aerosols, and more particularly to. methods.

and apparatus for reelassifying aerosols of fine liquid particles.

It is the general object of the present invention to produce new and improved methods and apparatus of the character described.

A further. object of the invention is to produce. new and" improved methods and apparatus for reclassifying aerosols or fogs of oil or other similar liquids used in lubrication of machine parts. or used in: cutting or processing operations.

It is. a more. specific object of theinvention-to produce methods. and apparatus for reclassifying" very fine liquid particles. in an aerosol, which methods. and apparatus maybe. used to recover fine liquid particles which formed a portion of any aerosol used for lubricating; purposes, and which particles werenotreclassified inthe lubricatting system. I

Yet another object of the invention is to produce methods and apparatus providing for aerosol lubrication of parts d'ifiicult to lubricate by. aerosol methods.

Aerosols or fogs of fine oil particles have been used for lubricating many forms of machinery. In, such systems. an aerosol generatorrisused which finely subdivides the liquid lubricant into particlessufficientlyv small as to remain suspended for a considerable period of ti-mein a carrier air stream. In such: form, the particles may be carried by the stream to a. point or points where lubrication is desired. A suitable aerosol generator of improved design is shownin my eopending application, SerialNumber 512,416, filed June. 1,, 195.5. In conventional oil fog lubrication, the fog is generated through the. use of compressed air at moderatepressure (20-40 p.s.i.), but the carrier air stream which carries the fog to. the point of lubrication is of much lower pressure, 'of the order of /3 p.s.i. At thepoint where the lubricant is to be applied, means are. providedv for reclassifying the fog, i.e. so treating it thatthe, very fine particles are-caused to coalesce and form larger particles capable; of; depositing either on the part to be lubricated or upon a baffle, wherefrom the oil-particles may drip onto the part to, be lubricated. With the bafiie type of reclassifier, only a small portion of the aerosol is reclassified, and the remainder remains in the area to settle out and deposit on other parts of the machine or to escape as waste fog. Inanother form of reclassifier, the fogisv passed through av jet so that it (with the impelling pressure of /3 p.s.i.) attains a velocity of 8,000l0',000 feet per minute, so that when the moving aerosol impinges onv the part tobe lubricated, reclassification takes place. In both systems, very fine particles, of the order of less than /2 micron, willnot be reclassified or deposited by the systems used.

Thus, it is a further object of the invention to produce a reclassifying system and apparatus wherein a.- much larger percentage of the fine liquid' particlesare reclassified and deposited, including those of sizes. smaller than A micron.

United States Patent 0 M 2,912,064 Patented 1.0, 1959 z: p "In: machines, there may be certain parts which are diflicult to lubricate in an aerosol-3 system: of the type inst describ d. because. f; e: fact ha epart to he; lubricated are moving. rapidlyand in a manner to: create a--.eurrentor baflie of air whichquite etiectively shields the part fromthe normal current or jet ofaerosol, and thus the part does not receive proper lubrication. Accordingto the present invention, however, an aerosol reclassification system is provided. wherein such shields orbafile air currents can successfully be penetrated and efiicient reclassification and deposition of lubricant be obtained on the desired parts.

Other and further objects and advantages of the-present invention will. be readily apparent fromthe ,followingdescription: and drawings, in which:

Fig, 1. is a somewhat schematic view of an aerosol lubricating system incorporating the present invention;

Fig 2 isv an enlarged view. partly insection of a portion of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is. a vertical sectional view. showing a modified formof aerosol reclassifier;

Fig. 4 isa vertical sectional viewshowing a further modification of the reclassifier of. the present invention wherein multiple outlets are used;

Fig. 5' is a. sectional view of Fig. 4. taken along line 5-5 thereof; 1

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view showing a form of recovery reclassifier attached to amachine housing;

Fig. 7' is a horizontal section along, line 7--7 of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is an end elevational view as indicated,v by. the

line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

will herein be described in detail several embodiments,

with. the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplificationrof the;prin ciples of the invention and isnot intended to limit the invention to the embodiments illustrated. The scope. of the invention will'be pointed. out in the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 a device for supplying lubricating aerosol to, a machine part otherwise difiicult to lubricate by such methods because of the air currents involved. As seen in- Fig. 1, the device in question is a link chain 10 carried by a: rotatably mounted sprocket 11 wherein. rapid movement of the sprocket and chain creates an air current passing along and in the directiongenerally indi cated by'the arrow 12. For applying lubricant in aerosol form to the chain, there is provided, a ,reclassifier. havi'nga casing 13 provided with a firs't'inlet, 14 connected by means of a pipe 15 to an aerosol generator 16. A

second inlet,17 in the casing 13 is connected. by means be obvious to those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains, the aerosol generator 16 maybe connected toa number of outlet nozzles for directing the aerosol against other parts to be lubricated.

As'best seen in Fig. 2, the aerosol inlet 14.is connected by means of a restricted passageway 20 to a passage 21 formed in the casing 13 and terminating in an opening 22. The air inlet 17 is connected by means of a short passage 23 to a tube 24 extending generally coaxially of the passage, with the latter, of course, being larger in diameter than the tube so as to provide an annular passage surrounding the tube 24 at the portion adjacent the end 25" thereof.

In'utilizing the reclassification system shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the casing 13 is threaded into a support 26 located'adjacent the chain to be lubricated. The air pressure generated by the apparatus 19 should be between 5 and 15 p.s.i., and the air supplied thereby should be clean and filtered. The restricted passage 20 acts in the manner of an orifice so that its diameter regulates the quantity of aerosol supplied to the passage 21. The diameter of the tube 24 is less critical, and a inch diameter has been found to be suflicient to supply proper air under a wide range of oil deliveries. With air under the pressures mentioned supplied to the inlet 17, and hence exiting from the opening 25, oil is drawn through the restricted passage 20 which, it will be noted, extends at an acute angle relative to the passage 21 and tube 24 so that aerosol passing therethrough is aimed at and impinges upon the tube. A small portion of the oil particles forming the aerosol will reclassify upon striking the tube and be carried into the air stream as larger droplets of oil. The larger portion of the aerosol will be drawn into the air stream emitted from the opening 25 and by virtue of the violent change of velocity which thereupon occurs will be reclassified into larger particles. These particles are then carried by the jetting air stream with considerable force against the surface of the chain and the air barrier indicated at 12 will easily be penetrated thereby, not only because of the high velocity stream of air and aerosol mixture being emitted from the tube 24, but also because of the fact that the particles are reclassified due to the acceleration thereof which occurs as they enter the airstream. The reclassified particles, being larger, more easily penetrate any air bafile or barrier created by the moving chain.

A somewhat similar form of apparatus is shown in V Fig. 3, wherein there is provided a casing having an air inlet 31 connected to a tube 32 extending through a passage 33 formed in the casing. The passage terminates in an opening 34 directed at a part to be lubricated, such as the chain described in connection with the previous embodiment. The aerosol is admitted into the passage 33 through an inlet 35. The casing 30 is secured to a support 36 positioned adjacent the part to be lubricated, as in the previous embodiment. In this particular embodiment little, if any, reclassification takes place upon the tube 32, and practically all the fog is reclassified into larger particles upon entering the jet stream emitted from the open end 37 of the tube. It should, of course, be understood that the inlets 31 and correspond to the inlets 14 and 17 of the previous embodiment, and are to be connected to similar aerosol generators and sources of air under pressure.

In the modification shown in Figs. 4 and 5, multiple jets are used, each connected to an air inlet 40 by means of air tubes 41, 42 and 43. The aerosol generator is connected to the aerosol inlet 44, which in turn connects by means of restricted passageways 45, 46 and 47 to passages 48, 49 and 50 extending through the casing of the device and surrounding theair tubes -47. It will be noted that the passageways 45-47, which interconnect the aerosol inlet and the passages 48-50, are directed against the general flow through the passages. In such case reclassification within the passages and upon the tubes may The multiple ets shown are particularly adapted for use for' be quite high, of the order of or more.

lubricating chains where it is necessary to direct a stream of droplets into each set of side plates in a roller chain or uniformly to distribute oil on a silent chain. It should be noted that drip tubes 51, 52 and 53 surrounding each of the air tubes 41-43 are provided. The drip tubes are cut so as to have generally V-shaped lower ends so that oil reclassifying within the passages will not collect along the lower edge of the casing, and furthermore, the shape of the tubes assists in drawing reclassified oil from within the passages.

As in the previous embodiments, the air inlet 40 is connected to a source of air under pressure, such as the source 19, while the aerosol inlet 44 is connected by suitable means to an aerosol generator, such as the generator '19. The operation of the apparatus of Figs. 4 and 5 4 is generally similar to that of Figs. l-3, with the exceptions noted.

In Figs. 6-8, the same principle is utilized, but in a device for recovering aerosol. As illustrated in those figures, there is shown a housing 60 which may form part of the housing of a machine adapted to be lubricated by an aerosol, with the housing having a threaded vent opening 61, in which the recovery or precipitating device 62 of the" present invention is threadedly received. The precipitator or reclassifier is provided with a passage 63 opening at one end into the interior of the housing and at the other end into a reclassification chamber 64. The passage is provided with a narrowing portion 65 forming, in effect, a venturi throat in which is positioned the open end of an air tube 66, which is directed generally through the passage and toward the reclassification chamber. The air tube is connected at 67 to a source of air under pressure, preferably at 10 p.s.i., but at least within the range of 5 to 15 p.s.i.

Positioned in the reclassification chamber 64 is a generally V-shaped baffle 68 provided with inturned sides 69,

which are spaced somewhat from the side walls of the reclassification chamber. A secondary baffle 70 is provided at the open end of the reclassification chamber, opposite to the entrance portion at the end of the passage 63, with the secondary bafile extending inwardly generally a distance greater than the spacing of the sides 69 of the primary bafiie. A drain 71 is provided at the bottom of the reclessification chamber so that oil reclassified therein may be drained 05 for further use.

In operation of the apparatus shown in Figs. 6-8, air passing from the inlet 67 into the tube 66 is emitted as a jet in the venturi throat, and thereby serves to draw aerosol from within the housing into the passage 63 and accelerate the aerosol rapidly as it passes through the narrowing portion toward the reclassification chamber. Because of the violent acceleration taking place in the venturi throat, considerable reclassification takes place, and the reclassified particles are directed to impinge upon the apex of the V-shaped baffle 68. The shape of the baflie allows a continuous flow outwardly from the apex of the V, the direction of which flow is changed violently as the inturned' sides 69 are reached. Thus, particles which fail to reclassify and precipitate on the sides of the reclassification chamber or on the baffle are caused to recirculate until such precipitation occurs, the secondary bafiie serving to prevent the escape of reclassified oil and to assist in the recirculation just mentioned.

The reclassification apparatus just described is particularly useful to prevent the loss or escape of unreclassified aerosol from aerosol lubricated devices. As previously indicated, in most low pressure reclassifiers aerosal particles smaller than .5 micron are not reclassified and escape into the air, where their presence is often annoying and unpleasant. The reclassifier just described, however, is capable of recovering as much as -100% of such aerosol, which would otherwise be lost or vented.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for providing a preliminary reclassification of finely divided aerosol immediately prior to the deposition of the aerosol on a surface to be lubricated comprising a casing having a chamber therein and an outlet from the chamber, an aerosol generator remote from the chamber, a first inlet in the casing communicating with said aerosol generator and opening into the chamber, a source of air under pressure, a second inlet in the casing communicating with said source of air and with a tube extending generally coaxially of the chamber and aligned with said outlet whereby air from said source emitted from the tube in the chamber will draw aerosol into the chamber and rapidly accelerate the aerosol within the chamber to efiect a reclassification of the small aerosol particles and to emit from said outlet a rapidly moving stream of air and partially reclassified aerosol, and means for mounting the casing closely adjacent the 5 surface to be lubricated to direct said stream thereagainst. 2. The reclassifying apparatus of claim 1 including a passage extending between the first inlet and the chamber to establish communication therebetween, said passage opening to the chamber in a manner to cause aerosol passing therethrough to impinge upon the exterior surfaces of the tube.

3. The reclassifying apparatus of claim 2 in which said passage extends at an acute angle relative to the direction of air flow through said tube.

4. The reclassifying apparatus of claim 2 in which said passage extends at an obtuse angle relative to the direction of air flow through said tube.

5. In combination with a device having a chamber supplied with aerosol, apparatus for recovering very fine liquid aerosol particles comprising a casing having, a passage therein communicating at one end with the chamber and at its other end with a reclassifying chamber, said passage having a narrowing portion intermediate its ends to form a venturi throat, a tube terminating in said passage portion and opening toward said reclassifying chamber, a source of air under pressure, means connecting the tube to the source of air under pressure to produce a jet of air out of said tube opening to draw aerosol out of said chamber and into said passage and violently to accelerate it toward said reclassifying chamber, a baflle in said reclassifying chamber positioned in the path of movement of the accelerated aerosol, and means for collecting liquid reclassified by impingement against said baflle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,353,081 Stack Sept. 14, 1920 1,544,950 Smith July 7, 1925 1,600,262 Wickham Sept. 21, 1926 1,828,646 Dantsizen Oct. 20, 1931 2,257,779 Blake Oct. 7, 1941 2,536,340 Alikonis Jan. 2, 1951 2,605,087 Dautrebande July 29, 1952 2,613,067 Goodyer Oct. 7, 1952 2,691,428 Thomas Oct. 12, 1954 2,712,364 Laspe July 5, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 145,831 Germany July 1, 1902 

